Mike Krzyzewski shares advice, praise for Hubert Davis

Before taking the court for his final time coaching against North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski shared praise for Hubert Davis. Davis is in his first season as head coach for the Tar Heels after taking over for the great Roy Williams.

Mike Krzyzewski on Hubert Davis

“I think with any coach, you have to be yourself,” said Krzyzewski on the job Davis has done with North Carolina. “You can take good things from a lot of different people who’ve coached you or you’ve worked with, but at the end of the day you have to be you.

“Jon Scheyer will find that out next year, Hubert’s finding it out now. They’re both unbelievably gifted basketball minds and they were great players so I think they’re both gonna be pretty good coaches.”

Hubert Davis is the fifth head coach of the Tar Heels that has faced off with Krzyzewski and Duke. After legendary coach Dean Smith, Krzyzewski’s career has spanned the coaching tenure of Bill Guthridge, Matt Doherty and Roy Williams.

Davis has taken North Carolina to a 16-6 record in his first season, and currently sit in third place in the ACC. Davis first came to North Carolina as an assistant coach under Williams in 2012, and was part of the coaching staff that saw the Tar Heels win the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball championship.

Aside from impressing North Carolina enough to earn the head coaching job, Davis has impressed Krzyzewski as well. Despite the programs’ rivalry, Coach K’s respect for the Tar Heels and their coaching staff continues, as he prepares to retire from coaching after 42 seasons as the leader of the Blue Devils.

Coach K on North Carolina’s Dean Smith

As Coach K begins to coach his final game at Chapel Hill, he took a moment to reflect on the emotions of the moment with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. Krzyzewski took the chance to remember the late Dean Smith, the legendary coach that North Carolina’s home stadium bears the name of.

“Try to focus on the moment,” said Krzyzewski. “But whenever I come here, especially this last time — I have to think of Dean Smith. And what an amazing man he was and what he taught me in competition, and the culture he built here. I learned a lot from him and we’ve had some amazing contests. And it’s so appropriate that this building is named after him. So I was thinking a lot about him.”